Glucosamine is a well-known amino monosaccharide found in chitin. glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans. Glucosamine is widely used for the treatment of rheumatic fever, arthritic and arthosic complaints, in the acute as well as chronic forms, as well as in the treatment of pathological conditions originating from metabolic disorders of the osteo-articular tissue. Although products in the marketplace are labeled as, or referred to as, “glucosamine”, they are misnomers since such products consist of glucosamine hydrochloride or as unreacted mixtures of glucosamine hydrochloride and a complex such as potassium or sodium sulfate.
One drawback of many therapeutic drugs is their relative insolubility in the body after they have been administered to a patient. It would be most desirable if more soluble versions of therapeutic drugs could be made available.
It has now been found that complexes of halide-free glucosamine and acidic drugs are more soluble than the drugs themselves. An added benefit is that glucosamine itself is formed in the body (typically in the form of glucosaine phosphate) and therefore no “foreign” ingredients will be introduced in the body when the complexes of the invention are administered to patients in need of such drugs.
Salts or mixtures of “glucosamine” or “glucosamine sulfate” and a therapeutic drug such as aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, etc. are known in the prior art, e.g., see U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0058642 A1; U.S. Pat. Nos.6,608,041 B2; U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,291,527 B1; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,604,206; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,008,874. However, the “glucosamine” or “glucosamine sulfate” employed in such compositions are misnomers, inasmuch as such materials are actually glucosamine hydrochloride or mixed complexes of glucosamine hydrochloride and an alkali or alkaline earth metal sulfate.
In contradistinction thereto, the glucosamine employed in preparing the complexes of the invention is halide-free (i.e., the glucosamine has a purity of at least about 99 wt. % and a maximum halide content of about 0.01 wt. %) and as a result, the complexes of the invention will contain neither a halide nor any extraneous anions nor any extraneous cations (e.g., sodium, potassium, calcium, etc.).